Kurt Weigand, Pierre‐Yves Zaugg, Alain Frei, Arthur Zimmermann – 1 September 1984 – To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic significance of the N‐terminal propeptide of collagen Type III (Col 1–3) in chronic liver disease, the peptide level was measured in the serum of 4 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, 5 with chronic persistent hepatitis, 12 with chronic active hepatitis, and 1 with autoimmune hepatitis, for a period of 2 to 10 years and compared with liver function and histology.

Marcos Rojkind – 1 September 1984

Charles S. Davidson – 1 September 1984

Martin C. Carey, Norman A. Mazer – 1 September 1984 – The secretory compartment for biliary lecithin and cholesterol secretion probably resides in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum of the hepatocyte. The secretory compartment for bile salts lies predominantly in the enterohepatic circulation which fluxes bile salts continuously through the smooth endoplasmic reticulum compartment and extracts lipids for secretion into bile. Most of bile lecithin is newly synthesized by the liver; most of bile cholesterol is derived from extrahepatic sources.

J. Thomas Lamont, Bernard F. Smith, James R. L. Moore – 1 September 1984 – A critical step in the formation of cholesterol gallstones is nucleation (i.e., the formation of cholesterol monohydrate crystals from supersaturated bile). The rate of nucleation of cholesterol depends upon a critical balance between pronucleating and antinucleating factors in bile. Mucin, a high molecular weight glycoprotein secreted by the gallbladder and biliary duct epithelium, is a pronucleating agent in experimental and human gallstone disease.

R. Thomas Holzbach – 1 September 1984 – Water and electrolyte absorption leading to increased intraluminal concentrations of lipids and other solutes comprise the primary physiologic effect of the gallbladder. The dynamics of entero‐hepatic circulation can lead to confinement of up to 60% of the bile acid pool within the gallbladder during prolonged fasting.

Pasupati Mukerjee, Yoshikiyo Moroi, Moriyasu Murata, Alex Y. S. Yang – 1 September 1984 – Recent research has suggested that self‐association of bile salts does not follow the micellar pattern of self‐association exhibited by typical flexible chain surfactants and detergents. A working model for the self‐association of bile salts is proposed. It includes a mild degree of cooperativity in the early stages of the growth of aggregates and coexistence of a number of aggregates of different aggregation numbers.

Karol J. Mysels – 1 September 1984

GÖRan Lindblom, Per‐Olof Eriksson, GÖSta Arvidson – 1 September 1984 – The molecular organization in the liquid crystalline phases and the micellar solution phase has been investigated using numerous nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. A brief review of previous studies on the lamellar, hexagonal and cubic liquid crystalline phases is given. Mixed micelles were studied by measurements of 2H T1 and T2 nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation times of 2H‐labeled phosphatidylcholine. Using simple and rough models, the size and shape of the micellar aggregate were estimated.

Karl Müller – 1 September 1984 – Mixed micelles formed by the major constituents of native bile, i.e., bile salts and lecithin, were studied by X‐ray scattering differential scanning calorimetry and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. The aim of this study was to find differences in micellar structure and thermodynamic properties which might explain the different abilities of various biles to keep cholesterol in solution at comparable degrees of oversaturation.